Any ideas on how to refinish teak cabin doors

S

Sparkdog118

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2020
Messages
633
Reaction score
135
Points
43
Age
54
Location
Ft Myers, fl
Model
Offshore
I am recently refinishing all my teak on my 24 offshore. I have half the teak done, but hoping someone has a good idea on how to make the process of sanding the door slats easier. I spent hours on the first door. I have 1 door left. I am sanding all the teak down to 1000 grit and applying tung oil. It is coming out great so far. 94CED53A-D938-45BE-ADC7-76F0BD169AD9.jpeg36B172A3-1C78-437B-877C-05221E8F4DB6.jpegE7030343-EBF0-4276-B89A-965E65B0FC08.jpeg65B390F9-1619-47B0-8081-71FA3B3584F8.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: leeccoll
Get a paint stick, 3M spray adhesive and some sandpaper.
Make yourself a big version of a nail file you see the ladies using to file their nails and use that as a tool to sand the slats
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sparkdog118
Absolutely. Great idea. That sounds so simple and effective. Thank you. Gonna try that when I get home from work on Thursday.
 
1000 Grit ? God bless you. - I just saw the teak pictures on my PC instead of my phone. WOW!!! You got that teak looking nice.

BTW - In case the painters stick is a little flimsy (and they do have a cup in them) just rip down some some 1/4 stock to desired width and sand away. You will be surprised how effective the sticks are.

Another tip - you can cut a 45' or a point on one side so you can get into corners and edges real good. And of course post the final results :)
 
That teak looks to be in pretty nice condition to start... although the recently "done" stuff looks great! Have you ever tried the 2-part teak cleaners available? You just use a stiff bristled brush. I've worked on teak that was, literally, black in color. It came back looking brand spankin' new.
 
Are you using tung oil or teak oil? There is a difference and it may bite you later on. The key issue is if the oil is designed for exposure to the elements, specifically sunlight. Wood furniture tung oils may not do such a great job and can fade and wear quickly. Hopefully, yours will hold up. How many coats of oil did you apply. The more and the thinner the coats, the better. Your wood species is relatively closed grain and that helps with the finish. On more open grain species tung oil will pool in the grain and ooze out later, sometimes much later if applied too thick.
I also normally would not sand the wood so fine, 1000 grit. I would probably not go past 320. You need some bite for the finish. Sanding between coats of finish is better to remove any unevenness in the finish (not so much on the wood).
 
Sparky, that teak already looks great!

Can't thait to see it after you finish your rejuvenation.
 
Power wash the doors, let dry, then lightly sand off the "fuzz", and refinish.
I prefer Silkens Cetol instead of teak oil, it lasts A LOT longer and looks great.
 
seasick said:
Are you using tung oil or teak oil? There is a difference and it may bite you later on. The key issue is if the oil is designed for exposure to the elements, specifically sunlight. Wood furniture tung oils may not do such a great job and can fade and wear quickly. Hopefully, yours will hold up. How many coats of oil did you apply. The more and the thinner the coats, the better. Your wood species is relatively closed grain and that helps with the finish. On more open grain species tung oil will pool in the grain and ooze out later, sometimes much later if applied too thick.
I also normally would not sand the wood so fine, 1000 grit. I would probably not go past 320. You need some bite for the finish. Sanding between coats of finish is better to remove any unevenness in the finish (not so much on the wood).
Click to expand...


Agree with the tung oil assessment. It really needs to go on in thin layers over time and even then it will wear quickly. You may want to wipe than down with a thinner, let it dry good and proceed with either teak oil or another product made specifically for teak.
You dont want all that hard work to go to waste
 
Thanks everyone. I am hoping it will work out. This is the second coat of the oil. I mixed 3 parts terpentine to 1 part tung oil for 2 coats so far. I have never used tung before, so I will see how it holds up. I read that I should lightly sand with 320 between coats and allow 2 to 3 days to dry between coats. After a few more coats I am supposed to go a little more rich on the oil. If I install the wood and it looks like it is not holding up, I will definitely switch to the teak oil before it gets too out of hand. So true. Not wanting this work to go to waste.
 
Those are going to look spectacular. Good luck. I hope you are using the sickens Cetol. I’ve done that twice prior and the results are amazing and will last longer way longer than teak oil.
 
That approach is correct, starting with thinner spit coats. My concerns are whether the product you are using is made for exterior use.
One other important thing to note: Any tools like rags used for applying and wiping tung oil should be placed outdoors or in a fireproof container. Tung oil is one of those products that can spontaneously combust under the right conditions. The easiest way to create the right conditions is to crumble up the rags in a pile.
 
seasick said:
That approach is correct, starting with thinner spit coats. My concerns are whether the product you are using is made for exterior use.
One other important thing to note: Any tools like rags used for applying and wiping tung oil should be placed outdoors or in a fireproof container. Tung oil is one of those products that can spontaneously combust under the right conditions. The easiest way to create the right conditions is to crumble up the rags in a pile. (and put it in the sun_)
Click to expand...

FIFY..... LOL
 
Those rags can combust in the garage or a basement. It used to more often but as finishes moved away from high content VOCs, the number of cases has lessened. I used to do woodworking and furniture making in my younger days and of course followed message boards for woodworkers. Every now and then someone would post a message about smoke coming out of their refuse pail in the shop:)
Usually on products that can combust, there are warnings about the proper handling of rags and such.
 
Wow. That is extremely good to know. I will definitely take care of the hazards correctly. Thanks for the heads up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.